Pu-erh tea is a delicacy from the Yunnan province in China, which is said to lower cholesterol levels in the blood stream and effectively rid the body of toxins helping to aid indigestion. Another variation of Pu-erh tea is the Pu-erh Tea Cake from the same province of China. It is also known as uncooked pu-erh tea pie because of the way that it is produced and packaged. Pu-erh Tea Cake has a unique production process.

First, the tea leaves are allowed to naturally wither indoors. This process takes a day or two and allows any moisture to escape from the freshly picked tea leaves. The leaves are then put through the process of known as “Sha Qing,” which means kill the green. The purpose of Sha Qing is reduce fermentation through an air drying machine that is used to soften them. Sha Qing can also be done manually by pan frying the tea leaves over a wok.

The next step to Pu-erh Tea Cake is rolling. After the air drying process, the leaves must cool briefly before they are rolled and broken. This is a very important step because without it the tea will not age well and will be flavorless or very bland.

Following the rolling process, Pu-erh tea is sun-dried, wet piled for sorting, allowed to further ferment and finally steamed one last time before it is kneaded and compressed into a “disc” (cake/pie) shape. It is stored on racks and dried before being sold. During this time the internal moisture in the tea continues to ferment adding distinctive body and depth.

Once you have your Pu-erh Tea Cake at home, it requires an additional step before brewing. Since it has been compressed into a cake/pie shape, you will have to use a knife to pry flakes of tea off of the cake for brewing. You can then follow regular Pu-erh Tea brewing instructions, which can be found by clicking here.

When Pu-erh Tea Cake is brewed, it has a fresh, rich and earthy aroma with a sweet mellow taste. At EnjoyingTea.com you can find rich black tea Pu-erh Pie, packaged in a lovely gift box making it a great gift for another tea drinker or simply a wonderful treat for yourself!

Just click here to find a great selection of Pu-erh Pie and Cake at EnjoyingTea.com!